Geograpical, Descriptive, and Natural Features - Cromwell is one of the
interior townships of the south part of Huntingdon County, and was
erected from Shirley and Springfield townships in January, 1836, and
named "in honour of Col. Thomas Cromwell, deceased, who was an early
settler and a distinguished and hospitable citizen," and is bounded on
the northeast by Shirley, southeast by Tell and Dublin, southwest by
Springfield and Clay, and on the northwest by Cass and Shirley
townships. Its southeast line, running along the summit of Shade
Mountain, is nearly nine miles in length. To the northwest, and nearly
parallel with Shade Mountain, is Black Log Mountain, running the entire
length of the township. Sandy Ridge, quite an elevation, lies nearly
north from Orbisonia. Saddle Back Ridge is a range of mountains or
ridges, lying nearly north and south, between Orbisonia borough and
Aughwick Creek. From Aughwick Creek to Jack's Mountain, which forms
the boundary line between this and Cass township, are several ridges,
knolls, and hills, the largest of which is Coaling Ridge, in the
southerly part of the township.

The principal stream is the Aughwick Creek, which flows through the
township from south to north. Its principal tributary is the Black Log
Creek, flowing in a southwesterly direction down through the narrow
valley between Shade and Black Log Mountains to the gap or narrows just
east of Orbisonia borough, where it breaks through the mountain,
running northwesterly along the southwest side of the borough, passing
through a gap in Saddle Back Ridge, and empties into Aughwick Creek
near the residence of H. Jones. Shade Creek comes through Shade Gap
into Black Log Valley at the late location of Lupfer's steam tannery
and saw-mill, whence it flows northerly down the valley and empties
into Black Log Creek a short distance above the narrows. From the west
are several small streams flowing into Aughwick Creek, the largest of
which is Old Woman's Run, which empties into the Aughwick a little
below the mouth of Black Log. The East Broad Top Railroad passes
through the township nearly northeast and southwest, alongside the
borough of Orbisonia, and through the town of Rock Hill.

There are under the surface of Cromwell township large quantities of
iron ore, both hematite and fossil, principally owned by the Rock Hill
Iron and Coal Company, whose furnaces are located just outside the
borough of Orbisonia.

The farming lands of this township, scattered as they are through the
small valleys, are suceptible of a high state of cultivation, and upon
some are raised large crops of corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes.

Early Settlers and Pioneer Incidents. - This township being on the old
path from the lower Susquehanna to the Ohio country, and a portion of
the gap or gateway through which many of the pioneers to the then far-
off West journeyed, it would naturally attract the attention of some of
the pilgrims in search of future homes. Of this class were

THE CLUGGAGE FAMILY. - This family of pioneers settled in Black Log,
which was sometimes called Horse Valley, about the year 1763, and
consisted of Robert, the father, who died a few years thereafter, and
sons named respectively Robert, George, Thomas, Francis, James, and
Gaven, each of whom became owners of land in the valley between Shade
and Black Log Gaps. For some time their neighborhood was known as
Cluggage's Valley. Robert, the most prominent man of the family, one
of the justices appointed after the erection of Bedford County, marched
his company in 1775 to the defense of Boston. Some time prior to 1771
he had built a grist-mill on the Black Log Creek, above the junction of
Shade Creek, near the William B. Gilliland brick house. Being the
first mill erected in that section of the county, its trade came from
the adjacent country for many miles.

From the Cluggage military papers remaining with William B. Gilliland,
a descendant of the family, the following extracts were made:

"War Office, June 24, 1778

"SIR:"

In consequence of your application and the information of others in that
quarter, a company of forty Continental troops is ordered to take post at
Huntingdon for the protection of that village, and the grist-mill [Cryder's
mill] near it, and to guard provisions, etc., to Fort Roberdeau, and perform any
other Services in their power for the common good. The stay of this company
there will probably not be long; nevertheless, they will afford an immediate
relief, and when it shall be necessary to draw them off, other measures we trust
will remove the dangers further from you. In the mean time it is expected that
the inhabitants join hand in hand with the troops, and assist in their own
defense; for those who will not help themselves as far as their own power
extends, do not deserve aid from others. We are aware the frontiers are
distressed, and feel disposed to yield them all possible relief; but the
inhabitants there should consider that we have a formidable enemy to encounter
which demands more men, and even stores, than can readily be found. But let the
people take courage and not abandon their settlements; the enemy have left
Philadelphia, and such measures are planning and forwarding as we hope will in a
few months induce the Savages to retire from the frontiers.

"We are, Sir,

"Your Obed't Servants,

"By order of the Board,

"TIM PICKERING.

"P.S. - We have paid Roger McLean, the bearer of your letter, forty-
five dollars for his time and trouble.

Inscription:

"To MAJOR ROBERT CLUGGAGE,

"At Ford Roberdeau.

"(War Office)."

A Letter from Richard Peters.

"SIR:

"Deliver to Capt. Robert Cluggage or order - a Number of Suits of
Clothes not exceeding one hundred either ready made or out of the
Materials you have in your possession delivered by Lt.-Col. Campbell of
the 13th Virginia Regiment. This receipt shall be your Discharge. The
Suits to consist of one Coat, one Vest, one pair of Breeches, two pairs
of Stockings, and two pair Shoes, two Shirts, and one Hatt, if you have
them, if not such as you have in your Care, informing the Board and
Sending Capt. Cluggage's Duplicate Receipt or that of the Person sent
by his Order.

"Your Obed. Serv't, "

"RICHARD PETERS.

"War Office,

"Nov. 5, 1778

"Col. D. KENNEDY,

"Winchester, Virginia."

Maj. (or, as he was afterwards called, colonel) Cluggage died about the
close of the year 1787, and it appears from a draught of a letter he
had written on the 21st of March of that year that the government yet
owed him a considerable amount of money expended for the public service
during the war. Among the items of personal property that appear on
the inventory made after his death are one Negro man named, Ham, valued
at £100, and one Negro boy, named Joe, value at £15. His sword was
appraised at £7 10s. The account of Gaven Cluggage, sole executor, was
passed by the register, Jan. 19, 1792.

A paper relating to Capt. Thomas Cluggage is as follows:

"A Praisement Bill of the guns and Blankets for Capt. Thomas Cluggage's
Company in the First Battalion of Bedford County now in actual service under the
Command of Colonel John Piper.

"December the 13, 1776.

L.

s.

d.

"Joseph Harbison one Rifle Gun

6

10

0

Alexander Anderson one Rifle gun

6

0

0

Thomas Morgan one Rifle gun

6

0

0

Thomas Coal one Rifle gun

6

0

0

David Sunderlin one Smooth gun

1

15

0

John Rodgers one Rifle gun

5

0

0

Jacob Ginnon one Rifle gun

5

0

0"

The old mill became as noted in its day as any county-seat within a
hundred miles of it. Col. Cluggage was the man of the times and of
this section of country. After the War of the Revolution, when the
patriotic fires were still burning on the altar of many hearts,
regiments, battalions, and companies were organized throughout the
country, and training days were established, either by law or custom,
and Cluggage's mill was designated as one of the places for company and
regimental trainings or drills. The company drills were usually
attended monthly, or at farthest once in two months, during the summer
and fall. The first Monday in May was the great day of all the year,
not excepting the glorious Fourth of July. This was the time fixed for
general or regimental training, and at these musters the officers and
men usually had a "big time." Rival companies from different sections
of the surrounding country were present, and each company thought
themselves the best man of the crowd, and it was not unusual, and in
fact was thought to be a dull day if there was not several pugilistic
encounters between the rival military men or their friends.

Col. Gaven Cluggage was considered one of the best hunters of the time
in which he lived, and would always "bring down" his game at the first
shot. He left home one fine morning upon a short hunting excursion,
which lasted but an hour or two, as he had extremely good luck. By his
request, his brother Thomas hitched up the horse and sled and started
in pursuit of the game the colonel had shot. He had gone but a short
distance when he found the game. It was a good-sized rattlesnake,
measuring fifteen feet in length, and nearly a foot through in the
thickest part. Had this occured in the snake season of the year we
could not doubt its truthfulness had the snake measure twenty feet, but
in the winter, with the snow four feet deep, it beats any fish story
and smell rather snaky.

After years of toil and pleasure, Col. Gaven Cluggage died in 1823.

The black log, or stopping place for travelers, from which Black Log
Mountain, Creek, and Valley take their name, was a short distance above
the mouth of Shade Creek, midway between the David Grove and Samuel
Adams places, up the Shade Gap road.

Grove now owns the farm, up Black Log Valley, formerly the property of
Nancy and Esther Logan, who, in 1819, built the stone house in which
David Galbraith resides. On this farm or plantation was a small
tannery of four vats, which was in operation in 1825, and has since
gone to decay. There was also a blacksmith shop near the tannery in
1820.

Poplar Hill tract, located up Black Log Valley, near Shade Gap, was
taken up by George Werrick, or Warrick, who died in 1853. Michael
Stair now owns two hundred and sixty acres of the tract.

Mr. Stair, one of the oldest residents of the south part of Huntingdon
County, was born in Guilford Township, Franklin Co., Pa., Oct. 8, 1802.
He is of German origin on both the paternal and maternal side. His
grandfather and a brother came from Germany previous to the Revolution,
and settled near Hagerstown, Md. The brother enlisted in the war for
independence on the side of the colonies, and did good service.
Samuel, father of Michael Stair, was born near Hagerstown, Md., and
remained there until after his marriage to Elizabeth Ressler, whose
parents came from Germany and settled in Franklin County, Pa. After
his marriage, Samuel moved to Guilford Township where he worked at his
trade that of a cooper. He was also what was known in those days as a
rough carpenter. He was a noted athlete and a scienced boxer, and
seldom, if ever, found his match in trials of strength and skill. At
the breakout of the War of 1812, he enlisted in the American Army, and
served until the close of the war. He then returned to Guilford, where
he resided until his death. To him were born four sons and four
daughters, of whom one daughter is now living; also one son who is the
subject of this sketch. When Michael was eight years old he was bound
out to Simon Logan, who lived in Black Log Valley, Huntingdon Co., Pa.
He was to receive one year's schooling and an outfit of a certain or
prescribed amount. The latter he never got and but very little of the
schooling. Michael remained with Mr. Logan until he was eighteen years
of age, when he commenced life on his own account, his entire capital
being a very poor suit of clothes. He was blessed with a great
constitution and a brave heart, elements that always bring success when
backed up as in Mr. Stair's case with good judgment. His first work
for himself was threshing (with a flail) wheat, oats, and rye for a Mr.
John Logan. He was more than an ordinary thresher and by working hard
could earn twenty-five cents a day. He earned about four dollars,
which was the start of his life. Until 1830 we find Mr. Stair working
at whatever he could get to do whereby he could earn a dollar. The
cooper's trade was learned, and for a year or so he worked at it. At
another time he would cut wood, again rail-splitting, working by the
year driving team for seventy dollars per year. But when a dollar was
earned it was a dollar saved, for he never spent money unnecessarily.
On the 5th day of January, 1830, he was married to Miss Mary Hagie,
daughter of Jacob Hagie, who was born in Germany. Miss Hagie was born
in Tell Township, Huntingdon Co., Pa., in June, 1796. On her marriage
she received a small outfit, which, with his saving, enabled Mr. Stair
to buy the tools and stock necessary to work a farm. He rented a farm
of Mrs. Logan, and remained on it four years; then rented of Mrs. Gray
the farm he now owns. In 1840 he bought the farm of the heirs, paying
them off as they became of age. When it was paid for another tract was
bought and this he continued to do until he owned three hundred acres.
He devotes his time and farm to stock-raising, at which he is very
successful. In partnership with Mr. Krough, of Orbisonia, he in 1866
engaged in the mercantile business. At that time Orbisonia was but a
small place, and Mr. Obison's store the only one. The first year their
trade amounted all told to not over five thousand dollars, but
increased year by year until they sold in one year over twenty-seven
thousand dollars' worth of goods. After remaining in the business
fourteen years he sold out to Mr. Jacob M. Krough. He still owns
property in Orbisonia, and in one of his buildings his daughter,
Frances J. Stair, has and manages a millinery store. He is a Roman
Catholic in his religious belief, and has been a member of that church
for half a century. His family are also members of that same church.
In politics he is an ardent Democrat, and as such was elected poor
director though his county at the time was strongly Republican. He has
also held township offices at different periods. Mr. Stair came into
this county a poor and friendless boy when it was in its infancy, and
now, after a residence in it of seventy-one years, sees it traversed
with highways and railroads, - sees villages and cities in the place
of forests, and in the place of the poor bound boy finds himself a
well-to-do farmer and businessman, and honored and respected by all.

Up the Black Log Creek about one and a half miles lives Frederick
Harmon, in a house built by James Cluggage. This was, no doubt, the
best and most fashionable house in all this region of country, as it
had matched flooring; the chimney corner and mantel-work, as well as
the shingles, were fastened with wrought nails made by the blacksmith.
A large tract of land above Harmon's was owned by the Pollard family,
who have no descendants of that name in Cromwell at the present time.

In the early part of the present century Black Log Valley, narrow
though it was, and isolated from the rest of the world, had become
quite a noted place, so much so that --_ Blanchard, M.D., of
Philadelphia, located here as early as 1809, and in 1826 Baltimore had
caught the Black Log fever, and a Mr. Bryam came into the valley with
several six-horse teams loaded with household goods, and is reported to
have commenced the erection of a house upon quite an extensive plan.
It was to be sixty by eighty feet on the ground, and three or four
stories high. When the building was nearly completed he abandoned the
enterprise, sold out, and returned to Baltimore. Benjamin Chilcoate
was an early settler here. He came from Maryland, and one of his sons
died a few years ago at the age of eighty-two years.

Lost Treasure. - Many incidents are related of the burying of treasure
by different individuals in different localities, and Black Log is not
without its "buried treasure" story and its hero. Capt. Jack, as Mr.
Armstrong was familiarly known, was not an admirer of the copper-
colored race, and lost no opportunity in making his dislike known to
the Indians that frequented this part of the country. He in turn was
both dreaded and hated, and driven from place to place as opportunity
offered. Upon one occasion his flight was in the direction of Black
Log, and being somewhat impeded in his flight by a leather bag filled
with gold and silver which he was carrying, he secreted it as he was
passing through the Narrows. He never returned to the spot for it, and
it never has been found, or, at least, no knowledge of the fact has
been made known. Some enterprising young men might employ their spare
moments in hunting for the lost treasure in or around the Narrows.

Pioneer Transportation. - In the fourth quarter of the last century and
the first decade of the present there was no means of transportation
between Cromwell and the Susquehanna other than mules and farm teams,
and there being next to no wagon roads, freight of most kinds was
carried upon the backs of mules or pack-horses; but mules were not
introduced until after the iron-works here had been under way for
several years. Oxen and heavy wagons were used to a large extent in
hauling ore, limestone, and charcoal. In carrying ore on horses two
large boxes or baskets were hung across the back of the horse and
filled with the precious stuff, and so transported from the opening to
the furnace. In this way, too, goods were transported from the
Susquehanna, over the Tuscarora, and through Shade Gap to what is now
Cromwell, or Orbisonia. The iron made at the old Bedford and other
furnaces in this vicinity was transported to Pittsburgh on horses and
mules by bending the iron to fit the back of the animal, upon which was
laid a saddle or pad made for the purpose, and the iron laid across.
Of course the cargo had to be unloaded at night in order to give the
animals rest on their weary journey to the city of smoke. On either
side of these saddles or pads were a sort of wallet or sack, in which
goods were placed in Pittsburgh to be brought back to the furnaces.
Extra pack-mules or horses were provided to carry feed for the animals
and rations for the men. One man could easily manage six or eight
mules or horses. Thus goods and merchandise were carried till the
advent of canals and railroads.

Pioneer Highway. - Following is the order of appointment of viewers to
lay out a public highway leading from Burnt Cabins to Drake's Ferry,
crossing what is now Dublin, Cromwell, and Shirley townships:

"At a court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held at Bedford
in and for the County of Bedford the Tuesday in April, in the year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven. Before Barnard
Dougherty, Esquire, and his associates, Justices of the same Court.

"William Morris, James Coyle, John Galbraith, Henry Warner, David
Walker, and Hugh Logan, the six men who were appointed at the last
Court to view, and if necessary to lay out a road from the Burnt Cabins
to Drake's Ferry, made their report to the Court in the words and
figures following:

"Agreeable to your Worship's Order we have laid out a Road from the
Burnt Cabins to Drake's Ferry, on the Juniata River, and laid it out by
courses and distances. [Here is another obliteration. The last line is
legible, except day of month, as follows:]

"Whereupon it is considered by the Court and ordered that the same be
and it is hereby confirmed as a public Road, and the Supervisors of the
Highways of the Several Townships through which the same is laid out
are ordered to open and clear the Same accordingly of the Breadth of
thirty-three feet.

"Bedford County ss.

"I do Certify the aforegoing to be a true Copy of
the Record remaining in my Office at Bedford.

(Bedford Co. Seal) "IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto Set my Hand
and Affixed the Seal of the said County the "thirteenth day of October, Anno
Domini, 1788.

"DAVID (balance obliterated).

Pioneer Land Claim and Testimony. - The following is the testimony of
Gabriel Peterson in relation to "Turkey Hill" tract, now in Cromwell
township:

Thomas Duncan, Esq.,

vs.

Allegheny County ss.

Robert Cluggage, James Cluggage, Jane Cluggage.

"In pursuance of a Rule of the Court of Huntingdon Co. to take
deposition of Witnesses between the hours of Ten and three o'clock in
the afternoon Personally appeared, Gabriel Peterson, before me a
justice of the peace in and for said County of Allegheny and being
sworn as law directs Saith about the year One thousand Seven Hundred
and sixty-three or four my father, Lawrence Peterson, made an
Improvement On a tract of land called turkey hill, Built a cabin,
cleared between three and four acres of land, fenced the same, & raised
corn thereon. And Jacob Hair built his cabin on the Northwest Side of
the Said Turkey hill some time after this Improvement was made. Jacob
Hair and my father showed me the Conditional line they had made between
them, and this deponant saith that the said line run from Black Log
Mountain to Shade Mountain & run along the top of said Turkey Hill,
Some after George Armstrong was Surveying land in that County &
Imployed my father & Hair to Hunt for said surveyors & promised that he
would take out locations for each for their tracts of land & have them
Surveyed for their Services as hunters; this deponent saith that his
father & Hair hunted for Armstrong's Surveyors three or four months.
At that time this deponent saith that there was at that time two or
three acres cleared and fenced on Hair's tract and corn raised thereon.
This deponent saith that his father & Hair continued on the aforesaid
tracts Until they were drove off by the Indians.

"Question by Simon Logan.

"What age are you at this time?

"Answer: Sixty-three or sixty-four.

"Question: Which side of Turkey Hill was your father's improvement?

"Answer: The southeast side.

"Question: Who
lived on the land at the time the Improvements were made?

"Answer: My father and Hair.

"Question: How long did your father and Hair continue
on said tract of land before they were drove off by the Indians?

"Answer: About one year.

"Question: How was this land surveyed for?

"Answer: It was surveyed for my father, Lawrence Peterson, and Jacob
Hair.

"Question: Where did you live at the time the Improvements were
made?

"Answer: With my father on said land.

"Question: What time was
the land surveyed?

"Answer: In the year 1765, or thereabouts.

"Question: Who surveyed this tract of land?

"Answer: I do not know.

"Question: What was this tract of land worth at the time?

"Answer: Ten
or fifteen pounds.

"Question: What was the common price surveyors gave
to hunters per day at that time? "Answer: One dollar per day and the
skins to themselves.

"Question: Did you see the corn that grew on Your
father's Improvement and Hair's pulled after it came to be ripe?

"Answer: I helped to pulling father's corn, but know nothing about
Hair's.

"Question: Was their cabins by Hair and your father for the
purpose of Hunting or for the purpose of holding the land whereon they
were built?

"Answer: For the purpose of holding the land whereon they
were built.

"Question: Are you Interested in this suit?

"Answer: I am
not.

"Question: Is all the facts stated above from your own knowledge
or from Information obtained from others?

"Answer: From my own
Knowledge.

"Question: Was there any agreement in Writing between
Francis Clugget and You that if You gained this land of Hugh Logan that
you was to give said Clugget one hundred acres of said land?

"Answer:
There was no agreement, either verbal or written, between Clugget and
me respecting the land.

"A True Copy

"Oct. 8, 1810."

The following, as well as the foregoing, is a copy of papers in
possession of Simon P. Cook, of Orbisonia, great-grandson of Hugh
Logan, a pioneer of this township, in relation to claim of Peterson and
others for the Turkey Hill tract in Black Log Valley:

"Huntingdon, May 1801.

Brown, Hend, Smith.

Lessee of Gabriel Peterson, William Tucker, and Nancy his wife, John
Churchfield, and Christiana his wife.

"In March, 1772, I fell in with one James Ross below Jack's Narrows.
He introduced me to Lawrence Peterson, who said he came from across the
Laurel Hill to see about the Turkey Hill tract, which he got from
George Croghan for his services. He was going to Robert Cluggage's, my
Brother, to procure some one to settle on the land and pay taxes. I
engaged to see about his business if my brother Robert would not. I
put William Winton on the land to live on it for ten years, and if he
made valuable improvements he was to be paid for them. The possession
had been vacant for ten years before, at least, to my knowledge. In
1779 defendant bought from Winton, as he informed me, and had given him
the price of a cow in Continental money. In 1781 I told the defendant
the land was Peterson's, his claim was notorious in the Country.

"X. I mentioned to my brother what Peterson had said to me. He
neither said yes or no. Logan brought an ejectment against me, which
was discontinued on 20th of April, 1781. He bound me over about
keeping bad fences, and I bound him over for putting his Cattle in my
Grain. I have a Warrant for adjoining lands.

"Letter from Robert McKinzie to Richard Tea, mentioning the application
of Peterson, and that he made the same and other surveys for George
Armstrong, for which he received an order from him, and charging him
only 20s. for the making of each survey. Richard Tea's Indorsmt.
thereon as an original paper, proved to have been found among the
Office papers of George Woods at Bedford, offered in evidence and
objected to.

"Per curr. The Evid. may be well rec'd. It is tantamount to a rect.
for surveying fees, and shows at who Instance the Survey was made. It
therefore establishes an equitable interest in this Location in Geo.
Armstrong.

"(No date). George Croghan Metn. of a number of Surveys in his Hand
Writing. '1 Tract, Col. George Armstrong, Turkey Hill, . . . run out.'

"Objected to.

"Ruled to be good Evid.; it repels the Idea that Croghan had presented
Peterson with this Location.

"Gavin Cluggage. 10th Sept. 1762.

"Robert Cluggage, my father, came into this country and bought Land of
John Daley, and he said it adjoined lands surveyed for George Croghan,
the Turkey Hill Tract. Daley mentioned this several times at our
House. Lawrence Peterson and Thomas Hall were hunting and encamped on
the other side of Black Log Creek; my father asked them over to our
encampment. Peterson I never heard claim any Title to the Land, tho'
he hunted over it with me. About 3 weeks after Jacob Hare erected a
cabin on the Turkey Hill tract, and Daley told him the land had been
surveyed for Croghan and he would lose his Labour. Peterson was alone
in the World and hunted about. I hunted with him in 1767 and 1768, but
he said nothing of his claim to this land. He had a cabbin 22 miles
off which he mentioned to me. Wm. Winton first occupied this Land and
made a cabin thereon, cleared 10 or 12 as., and settled on it as
Gentleman's Land. I showed him the spring. He never held under
Winton. It was publickly known as Gentleman's Land.

"X. Hare never told me that Peterson had Lands there. The first I
heard of it was from Deft., who said he had found out at Bedford that
the land was Located in his name and belonged to George Armstrong.

"William Henry called on Witns many yrs ago,
and spoke of the Tract as Surveyed for George Armstrong.

"The Court thought that Geo. Armstrong was shown to be entitled to the
Location and Survey, and Plffs. Counsel immediately Suffered a non-
suit.

"The foregoing is a copy of my Notes on the Trial, and has been
compared with the Original in my possession.

"J. YEATES"

PIONEER DEED.

"Know all men by these presents, that I, William
Winton, of Dublin Township, Bedford County, State of Pennsylvania, for
and in consideration of the sum of thirteen hundred and twenty-five
pounds current money to me in hand paid, at and before the sealing and
Delivery of these presents by Hugh Logan, of County of York and State
aforesaid, hath granted, Bargained, and sold, and by these presents
Doth Bargain and sell to said Hugh Logan, his Heirs or assigns, all my
Right, title, Interest, property, Claim and Demand whatsoever, in and
to that tract of land whereon I now Liveth, Lying and being in said
County of Bedford, adjoining Lands of George Cluggage, together with
all the Improvements thereon made or erected, and the grain now in the
grown on said premises, and a loom and other articles mentioned in an
article of agreement between me and said Logan. To have and to hold
said Improvements, grain in the grown, and loom to said Hugh Logan, his
Heirs or assigns, me, my Heirs, Executors, or Administrators shall and
will warrant and forever Defend, and against no other person
whatsoever, as witness my hand and seal the twenty-first day of March,
in the fifth year of American Independence, and in the year of our Lord
one thousand seven hundred and eighty.

"Wm. WINTON. [Seal]

"Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of

"JAMES CARMICHAEL

"BARS. DOYLE

"Received the day of the Date of the above Indenture of the within
named Hugh Logan, the first sum of thirteen hundred and twenty-five
pounds, being the full consideration money above mentioned, as witness
my hand and seal.

"WM. WINTON.

"Testes.

"JAMES CARMICHAEL.

"BARS. DOYLE.

[Seal of Huntingdon County.]

"Recorded in the office for recording Deeds for the County of
Huntingdon, in Book E, page 95, the ninth day of November, A.D.
1795.

"AND. HENDERSON

"Recorder."

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. - This church is located in Black Log
Valley, southeast part of the township, near Shade Gap.

Services were held in this locality as early as 1765 or 1770 by
Jesuits, or Roman Catholic priests, and in the early part of this
century a house of worship was erected on the left bank of Shade Creek,
on the Turkey Hill or Logan tract. In 1845 the present substantial
stone church was built, costing twelve hundred dollars. This building
stands upon the site of the old church. In the same lot with the
church is St. Mary's Cemetery, belonging to the parish.

The parish is visited monthly by the priest in charge of Huntingdon
parish. Present membership, one hundred.

Andrew Heage and Michael Stair are two of the trustees of the church
property, which is valued at two thousand dollars.

Union School-House. - This is located two miles southwest from
Orbisonia, and has been occupied by the different denominations for
over fifty years. Revs. John Ball and Jonathan Monroe held a series of
meetings here in the winter of 1837, which resulted in the conversion
of over eighty persons, many of whom lived devoted and useful lives
during their sojourn upon earth. Occasional services are still held
here by Methodist and other preachers.

McKendree Methodist Episcopal Chapel. - This chapel is located in the
south part of the township, and thus named in honor of one of the
prominent pioneer preachers in Methodism.

This society was formed in 1832, with the following-named pioneer
members: Benedict Stevens, Eve Stevens, Samuel Boher, Hannah Boher,
Jacob Boher, Mary Boher, Sally Chilcoate, Alva Chilcoate, Catharine
Chilcoate, and Benedict Stevens, Sr. Just who the first class leader
was is not positively known, but is supposed to be Benedict Stevens,
Sr., and in 1850 Alva Chilcoate was leader.

The present and only chapel at this place was built in 1843 or 1844,
and cost nine hundred dollars. The shingles for covering the roof were
made by Benedict Stevens.

The "McKendree" has been at times connected with Fort Littleton, Mount
Union, Concord Circuit, and Shirleysburg Circuit, and is now part of
Orbisonia charge. For list of preachers at this place, see Orbisonia
Methodist Episcopal Church. Present membership, thirty-two. The
present trustees of McKendree Chapel are Rev. W. H. Stevens, J. F.
Chilcoate, Henry A. Buckley, Joseph McKelvey, and Henry Beers; Steward,
Henry A. Buckley; Class-leader, Rev. W. H. Stevens, who also holds a
supernumerary relation. Mr. Stevens is also superintendent of the
Sabbath-school, wtih an average attendance of thirty-five scholars.

Monroe Methodist Episcopal Chapel. - Monroe Chapel is located two and
one-half miles west or northwest from Orbisonia, and named in honor of
Jonathan Moore, one of the pioneers of Methodism, who preached in this
locality in the early part of this century. Like most other pioneer
beginnings of Methodism, the old log school-house was made the
sanctuary, also the house of William M. Chilcoate. When Mr. Chilcoate,
who was the pioneer class-leader in that society, moved to the Wharton
farm, the meetings were transferred to his house. Preaching services
were held in the school-house in the winter of 1837, which resulted in
building Monroe Chapel, or Church, in 1838, which has stood the storm
for nearly half a century.

Reformed Church of America. - The branch of this church located in
Colgate district, three miles northwest of Orbisonia, was organized in
the Colgate school-house in 1858 by Rev. S. H. Reed, and was at that
time a part of Huntingdon charge or circuit.

The pioneer members were Samuel Grove, Daniel Isenberg, Samuel
Isenberg, John Enyeart, and Isaac Enyeart. Previous to 1882 the
society worshipped in the Colgate and other school-houses, and in that
year built the present brick church at a cost of three thousand
dollars.

The preachers on this charge were --- Steckel, --- Keefer, and Dole
till 1874, when this was separated from Huntingdon charge, when
students and others supplied the people with preaching till 1878, when
Rev. J. M. Shick was called and remained till October, 1881, when he
was succeeded by Rev. E. H. Wrighter, the present pastor. Present
membership, one hundred and twenty.

Building committee for church edifice built in 1882 were James Smith,
John Enyeart, David Enyeart.

Elders, John Grove, and Joel Isenberg.

Deacons, John Hernkane and Jackson Grove.

The average attendance of pupils upon the Sunday school connected with
this branch of the church is forty, with Jackson Grove superintendent.

Industries of Cromwell. - Among the numerous mills and manufactories of
various kinds through the township not heretofore mentioned are the
following saw- and grist-mills: R. D. Heck's saw-mill, located in the
southwest part of the township, and the saw-mill of J. B. Shenefelt,
both on the same stream, and the sawmill of J. R. Lane, in the
northwest part of the township, on Bear's Branch. The tannery built by
Bryce X. Blair, and known as the "Gap Tannery" and subsequently owned
by J. M. & J. W. Supfer, was destroyed by fire in 1879. There was also
a grist- and saw-mill at this place, both of which have been abandoned
for milling purposes. There are several other small enterprises in the
township, of which we could gain no accurate knowledge.

IRON INTERESTS. - For the data for our sketch of the iron interests of
Cromwell township we are indebted to Mr. Thomas E. Orbison and Mr. B.
F. Ripple, also to Mr. Coons, who furnished a copy of his paper in
which Mr. Ripple's article on the iron interests of the township was
first published.

The pioneer furnace of this township was built in 1785 by Thomas T.
Cromwell, George Ashman, and Edward Ridgley, and was not only the
pioneer furnace of Cromwell, but the pioneer west of the Susquehanna
River. It was located on the site of and in the rear of what is now
the Franklin House, on Cromwell Street. It had a five-foot bosh and
sixteen foot stack. The motive-power was water from both the Black Log
Creek and Camp-Meeting Run, applied to an over and undershot wheel.

May 9, 1821, Thomas T. Cromwell purchased from Ruhannah Calhoon the
land on which the Rockhill Furnance was built in 1830 and 1831. The
tract of land was formerly the property of William Chambers.

In May, 1831, William Morrison and Thomas N. Diven purchased of T. T.
Cromwell nineteen acres of this tract, on which they built the "Old
Rockhill Furnace." This furnace had a twenty-eight foot base, was
twenty-nine feet high, and had a seven-foot bosh. The contractor for
building furnaces was William Davis, and the pioneer furnaceman was
Thomas Cluggage. The property was subsequently sold to Ford & Bell, and
in 1841 passed by lease into the possession of Andrew J. Wigton and
John R. Hunter, who ran the furnace for six years.

Mr. Cromwell with his well-known enterprise commenced the erection of
the "Winchester Furnace," just below the old Rockhill, in 1832, and
finished it in 1833, with Messrs. Bracken & Still as contractors, and
after its completion it was operated for a few years by William Pollock
and John M. Allen as partners. From 1845 to 1847 the furnace was
operated by Eli Beaty and George Davis, when in the latter year John S.
Isett, Samuel Isett, Samuel Wigton, Andrew J. Wigton, and R. B. Wigton
became the owners, and in 1864 sold the Winchester Furnace property to
Levi G. Leamer and Bernard Lorenz, and in 1868 the property passed into
the hands of Percival P. Dewees and Lewis Royer, M.D., who sold half
their interest to Roberts & Co., of Philadelphia, in 1871.

Among the names most prominently connected with the iron interest of
this district, and especially with the Rockhill Furnace, is that of
Hon. Percival P. Dewees. Of German origin, and born in Trappe,
Montgomery Co., Pa., March 9, 1818, he grew to manhood among the sturdy
yeomanry of that grand old country, inheriting from his ancestors, and
acquiring from those by whom he was surrounded during his early life,
that fixedness of purpose and sterling integrity of character which has
placed him in the front rank of the successful business men of this
county. His ancestors came from Germany and settled in Berks County,
Pa., from whence his father, David Dewees, migrated to Trappe, above
named in 1790. He purchased a farm, on which his family of eleven
children were born, and on which both himself and wife passed the
remainder of their days. For many years they were devout and
consistent members of the Lutheran Church, which was organized by Dr.
Muhlenberg in 1743. Percival P. was the youngest of the family, and
has now but four brothers and sisters living. He was early taught that
one of the divine laws was "to earn his bread by the sweat of his
brow," that labor was honorable and idleness dishonorable. His
education was obtained at the district school during the winter months
of his boyhood, and has since broadened and deepened by observation,
and by an active business life. Arrived at his majority he started out
in life on his own account. Ambitious to leave behind him at his
demise a record of having done something in his lifetime to develop the
resources of the country, - something that would make the world better
for his having lived therein, - with all his worldly possessions in a
bundle under his arm, he started on foot for the Green Lane Forge,
situated in the northern part of Montgomery County, and owned by Gen.
William Schall, for whom he clerked four years. On the 21st of
February, 1843, he was joined in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Van
Buskirk, daughter of Dr. George Van Buskirk, of Pottstown. The Van
Buskirks were an old and prominent family and among the earliest
settlers of Montgomery County. Miss Elizabeth was born Feb. 24, 1820,
and died Feb 1, 1881. To them were born three children, of whom two
died in infancy. The third, Amelia La Rue, is now the wife of Dr. W.
T. Browning, and located in Orbisonia, where the doctor has an
extensive and lucrative practice. In May, 1843, Mr. Dewees came to
Huntingdon County and became the manager of the Paradise Furnace, then
owned by Reuben Trexler, of Berks County. Here he remained until 1847,
when he received from the owners of the Aetna Furnace Company an
advantageous offer to superintend their business. He accepted their
offer, and remained with them eighteen months, when sickness compelled
him to resign his position. We next find him in Norristown, engaged in
the nail business with Gen. Schall, with whom he remained thirteen
years. In 1863, Mr. Dewees, at the solicitation of the heirs of Reuben
Trexler, again assumed the management of the Paradise Furnace, and
remained in that position until 1866, when, the business failing to be
profitable, the furnace was abandoned. During his stay at the last-
named furnace he had gained some knowledge of the Rockhill Furnace,
which was built in 1830, and up to 1867 had been owned and operated by
several different firms. About this time he came to Rockhill and made
a careful examination of the property. He satisfied himself that the
land contained valuable deposits of iron ore, and that the situation
was a favorable one for an investment of capital and labor, and he at
once, in company with Dr. Lewis Royer, of Montgomery County, purchased
the entire property. In December, 1867, he came on and assumed the
management of the business. He found Orbisonia a village occupying but
one street, and in a very dilapidated condition, while at Rockhill
hardly a building had a roof that would shed rain. There were people
ready to work and plenty of stock, but scarce anything with which to
feed either the people or the stock. To make matters worse, the winter
was a very severe one, sonw covered the mountains to the depth of two
feet or more, making the work of cutting wood for charcoal very slow
and unprofitable. But the people must live, and the stock had to be
cared for, and all depended upon Mr. Dewees, making a task which caused
him sleepless nights and gloomy days, and at times a feeling that it
was more than he could endure. These were days that tried his enduring
qualities, which brought in play and tested the training of his early
youth. The spring of 1868 found them ready for business, and in May he
made the first blast. During that year it was found difficult to raise
ore enough to make five tons per day, and for two years he was putting
in shafts and tunnels, in the hope, and with a strong belief, of
finding more extensive beds of ore than heretofore had been discovered.
In 1870 his labor was rewarded by the discovery of the rich ore-beds or
veins which has led to the present wonderful development of this part
of the county, the building of railroads and the extensive furnaces now
in successful operation at Rockhill. In 1871, Messrs. Edward and
Percival Roberts, of Philadelphia, who were largely interested in the
Broad Top coal regions, bought of the firm Royer & Dewees an undivided
one-half interest in the entire business. In July, 1873, the Rockhill
Iron and Coal Company was formed, and the property became merged
therein, and the Messrs. Royer, Dewees, and Roberts became stockholders
in the same. Dr. Royer now owns the store at the mines, while Mr.
Dewees operates the store and grist-mill at Rockhill, and now, at the
age of sixty-four years, contemplates retiring from all active business
pursuits. In politics, Mr. Dewees was in early life a Whig, and cast
his first vote for Gen. Harrison in 1844. On the breaking up of the
Whig party he for a time identified himself with the Democratic party.
In 1870 he joined the ranks of the Republican party, believing it to be
a party of progress and liberal ideas, also believing that its
legislative enactments were for his best interests, and he is now a
sturdy exponent of it policy so far as it is for the best interests of
the whole people. For many years he has been a school-director, and in
the fall of 1876 was elected by his party to represent his county in
the lower branch of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and served two
sessions. He served on the special committee appointed to Legislature
to examine into and investigate the causes of the Pittsburgh riots, was
also a member of the committee on corporations and railroads and iron
and coal. Mr. Dewees is now and for many years has been a member of
the same church to which his parents belonged.

The following is an article referred to, published in "The Leader" of
the issue of Friday, January 7, 1876:

"The 1872 session of the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the bill
incorporating the Rockhill Iron and Furnace Company, with a capital of
two million dollars, allowing the company to hold property and own
lands in Huntingdon and four or five of the adjoining counties. The
next autumn or winter a topographical survey of the lands immediately
adjoining Orbisonia on the south was made by Mr. Paddock, a civil
engineer of Philadelphia. On the northeastern part of this survey the
town of Rockhill is located, and on the other the iron-works of the
company. The company are the owners of about eight thousand acres of
land at this point, extending along Black Log Mountain on both sides,
running up Shade Mountain to the top, and scattered at various points
along the Aughwick Valley. On their land and in close proximity to the
furnaces, of which hereafter, is found both fossil and hematite ores,
limestone and sand. At Rockhill Gap, within a half-mile of Orbisonia,
a vein of fossil ore averaging twenty-four inches in thickness, and
extending from water-level up over four hundred feet is opened. On
each side of the gap there are two openings at different elevations,
the longest gangway penetrating the mountain for a distance of one-half
mile. The underlying vein is twenty inches, and is separated from a
smaller vein of six inches overlaying by a parting of fire-clay six
inches. The rock beneath the vein is hard sand-rock, and the measures
above the vein are soft shales. The ores on the south side are
compact, coarse fossil ore, reddish-brown color, with somewhat
laminated structure. The north side has a hard ore, with numerous
small crystals of calcite, darker reddish color. They run about forty
per cent. iron, with a trace of sulphur, and about one-tenth of one per
cent. phosphorous. The vein dips at an angle of about seventy degrees
towards the north, which is of great advantage over flatter veins in
respect to the convenience and cost of mining. The mining is done
without powder by picking out the soft clay parting and wedging the
benches of ore up and down. Hematites are found within a half-mile of
the furnaces, and on Sandy Ridge, two miles north, are several
openings. From the main mine comes a very hard and compact, containing
considerable ochreous iron ore, dark-brown color, yielding from forty-
five to fifty-one percent iron, and containing little sulphur or
phosphorous. There is also a hematite vein in crevice of Medina
sandstone on Black Log Mountain which yields largely and seems
inexhaustible. They have also opened the Cheet Bank, lying directly
under the Oriskany sandstone, Logan Bank in High Valley, and numerous
other hematite mines.

"The same company are the owners of about eleven thousand acres lying
across Broad Top Mountain and in Trough Creek Valley, of which about
ten thousand acres may be classed as coal-lands, the rest being covered
with valuable timber.

"These lands lie on the east side of Broad Top coal-fields, and are
reached by the East Broad Top Railroad, the terminus being Robertsdale.
The measures are flat but not quite level; there is a general dip
towards the southwest. In addition to this general dip, it appears
that Trough Creek is a regular basin, having its synclinal axis near
the bed of the stream, and its outcrops on the side of Ray's Hill on
the east and Broad Top on the west. This formation is the best
possible for mining, as it insures drainage towards the openings on
Trough Creek. At Robertsdale the company has three mines, and are now
shipping to market over four hundred tons coal daily.

"They have a coal-washer, crusher, coke-pits, and store located here,
and employ about three hundred hands at this time.

"To return to the furnaces. Messrs. Taws and Hartman, mechanical
engineers, furnished the designs and drawings. On the 17th of April,
1873, the centre line of two furnaces was run, and the first ground
broken in the afternoon of the same day. The construction was under
the superintendence of Mr. C. Constable, a civil engineer of New York,
who in February last, after the completion of the furnaces, went to
Tennessee, where he is now successfully engaged in running the Rockwood
Furnace.

"The furnaces are wrought-iron stacks sixty-five feet high, seventeen
feet bosh, with a stone stack house two hundred and eighty feet long,
and two large brick casting houses. There are twenty-four boilers,
which supply steam to two massive engines with four fly-wheels, twenty-
four feet in diameter, having steam cylinders forty-eight inches in
diameter and eight feet stroke. The blowing cylinders are ninety
inches. The engines are direct-acting, low-pressure, and were built in
Southwark Foundry, Philadelphia, said to have cost sixty to seventy-
five thousand dollars. The gases are brought from the top of the
furnace through a large downcomer to the boilers and the hot ovens, and
there take the place of fuel in supplying steam for the engines. There
are four brick hot ovens, each containing forty U-shaped cast-iron
pipes, through which the blast from the engines passes into the
furnace, entering the furnace at eight hundred degrees, and above six
hundred and twenty-five being the point that lead is melted. There are
five tuyeres, and numerous water-pipe connections. A large reservoir
is built on the hill back of the furnaces. A patent air-hoist is used
in hoisting the stock. There are forty-eight coke-ovens, twenty-four
and twenty-eight inches, on the Belgian plan, each having its own
flues.

"In the present condition of the country and the state of the iron
trade, it is somewhat suprising that a company would start furnaces so
large as these, but it is nevertheless so. Mr. H. G. H. Tarr, lately
of the Gaylord Iron and Pipe Company, Cincinnatti, is the present
superintendent. After filling seven cords wood, fifty tons coke, and
other stock, reaching to within eleven feet of the top, the furnace was
formally lighted on New Year's Day, 1876. There were present a large
concourse of people of town and vicinity; the casting-house was
brilliantly illuminated. Everything being in readiness, Mrs. Tarr, at
8:23 P.M., after lighting the torch, applied it to the kindling, and
lighted No. 1 furnace amidst clapping of hands and applauding. She
went off nicely from the start. Several person were called upon for
addresses. Messrs. B. F. Ripple, H. G. H. Tarr, and W. T. Browning
made short speeches.

"The blast was put on Monday, January 3rd, at 1:10 P.M., and the first
cast made Tuesday at 4:15 P.M., producing about fifteen tons No. 2
extra iron. Since this time she has been running very satisfactorily.

"The indications are that before long we will be a manufacturing town
second to none in the State. So may it be.

The borough of Orbisonia is pleasantly situated in the beautiful valley
or basin between Saddle Back and Sandy Ridges on three sides and Black
Log Mountain on the other. It is also at the mouth of the narrows or
gap in Black Log Mountain through which Black Log Creek flows.

Tradition, that always present and ever reliable old gentleman, tells
us that the site of what is now the beautiful and bee-hive like town of
Orbisonia was once the site of an Indian village, and to prove his
assertion cites the numerous relics of barbarism found upon this plain,
also will call the traveler's attention to what is supposed to be a
cave some two miles distant in the side of Sandy Ridge.

Pioneer Beginnings of Orbisona. - This being on the old Indian trail or
path leading from the Susquehanna to the then underdeveloped West, and
being at the outlet of the gaps through Shade and Black Log Mountains,
it did not take the keen-sighted George Irvin long to determine where
the best locality was for a store. Accordingly, in 1760 he built a
small log store-room on the site now occupied by the Methodist
Episcopal Church, southeast corner of Winchester and Cromwell streets.
His patrons were drawn of course from the Indians, a few white
settlers, and those traveling from East to West along the old path.
Here for several years he dispersed such wares as he had, consisting
mainly of sugar, molasses, boots, shoes, a few dry-goods, guns, powder,
and New England rum.

Mr. B. F. Ripple, of Orbisonia, has in his possession two of the
original bills for goods purchased by Mr. Irvin, or Irwin, as it was
frequently written. The bills are on old-fashioned unruled paper, and
were undoubtedly written with a quill pen. The following is a copy of
the bills:

The following letter accompanied the last mentioned bill of goods, and
is also in Mr. Ripple's possession:

"SIR, - I rec'd your favor of the 25th inst. with £16 6 8 to your
Credit, and now send you one Hhd. Molasses and one Hhd. Continent Rum,
which I wish safe to hand and to a good market.

"New England Rum is getting scarce now, but think there will be some
here soon -- when any Comes I do intend to purchase the Whole that I
may serve my friends at a reasonable rate. I have no news; flour Low
and likely to fall.

"I am Dear Sir your very Humbler Servt., "DAVID MCLURE"

The old Bedford Furnace, built in 1785, stood on the site now occupied
by the Franklin House, and the old store of Cromwell, Ashman & Ridgley
stood where David Etnier's house now stands, on Cromwell Street, and
what is now Cromwell Street was the old original highway, or part of
the Indian trail or pioneer path, and part of the road laid out from
Burnt Cabins to Drake's Ferry in 1787. The next store was by Thomas
Cromwell and Benjamin Cornelius, from 1824 to 1827. Their store, as
well as that of Messrs. George Taylor and Henry Crownover, or
Covenhover, stood on the lot now occupied by Thomas E. Orbison as a
garden.

The pioneer tavern was what is now the Franklin House. The building
stood on the opposite side of the street, and served the purpose of a
horse-stable till 1820, when the old log barn was moved to its present
location, converted into a hotel, and Benjamin Franklin honored with
another Tavern to perpetuate his name and fame. The landlords in the
old Franklin have been --- McDonald in 1824; Foreman in 1830; William
Pollock in 1834; then followed by William McCardle, Robert Giffin,
Jacob Baker, --- Cook, and Henry Wilt, from 1872 to the present time.

The pioneer grist-mill was built in what is now the borough of
Orbisonia in 1787, and Hezekiah Crownover was the miller from 1812 to
1816. The stone grist- and flouring-mill was built in 1826 by Thomas
T. Cromwell, and destroyed by fire in the fall of 1879.

The post-office at this place was established in 1830, and the pioneer
office kept in Taylor & Crownover's store.

The Eagle Hotel, corner of Cromwell and Elliott Streets, was built in
1836 by Jonathan Carothers.

In 1833 there were but nine dwellings in what is now the borough of
Orbisonia, and but three of the nine were standing in 1882.

The building now occupied as a grist-mill was built for a plaster-mill,
and subsequently converted into a sumach-mill, and after the
destruction of the grist-mill was, in 1880, converted into a grist-
mill.

The pioneer resident physician of this town was G. W. C. James, who
located here in 1844 or 1845. He subsequently removed to Ft.
Littleton, where he remained for four years, when he returned to this
place and established himself in business, and opened a drug-store
corner of Elliott and Ridgely Streets, and is still in the enjoyment of
a lucrative practice.

In 1833 there were two distilleries in Orbisonia, one of which was
converted into a tannery by T. & J. Carothers, and the other converted
to other uses by T. E. Orbison.

In the early part of this century Thomas Galbraith was the owner of a
wrought-iron nail factory which stood near the old Bedford Furnace.

Mr. Thomas E. Orbison came to this place in 1830, was instrumental in
procuring a post-office for this then new town, and in April, 1833,
engaged in the mercantile business in a log store-room that stood on
the lot now occupied by him as a barnyard. The building was
subsequently moved across the street. Mr. Orbison was instrumental in
laying out and building the town. His was the first brick house in
Orbisonia, it having been built in 1835.

Orbisona in 1882, - There were in 1882 in the borough one general
merchandise and hardware store, by C. H. Reed; five general merchandise
stores, Gehrett & Swoope, Downing, Vanzant & Co., J. Brodbeck, G. R. P.
Enyeart, and E. B. Orbison (the Orbison store the senior of any now in
existence); one drug-store, by G. W. C. James, Sr.; three millinery
stores, by Mrs. Alburns, Mrs. C. Bartello, and Miss Starr & Co.; one
dentist, Z. B. Taylor; three physicians, G. W. C. James, Sr., G. W. C.
James, Jr., and W. T. Browning; two hotels, Franklin House and Eagle
Hotel; one grist-mill; six churches, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal,
Baptist, United Brethren, Reformed Church, and Protestant Episcopal.
The population of the town in 1880 was five hundred and eighty-two.
Thomas E. Orbison is the present postmaster.

Rock Hill. - The town of Rock Hill, lying just across the Black Log
Creek from Orbisonia borough, was laid out in 1874 into streets,
avenues, and alleys. Here is located the depot of the East Broad Top
Railroad, other buildings, yard, etc., belonging to the road. Here
also is the "Markle House" a first-class hotel, situate in a shady
grove, making it a pleasant resort for the summer tourist or the flying
business man. There is in the town a large number of dwellings, most
of which belong to Rock Hill Iron and Coal Company, and are occupied by
their employees. There is no store in the town, and all trading is
done in Orbisonia borough. The name of the station is the same as that
of the town.

Civil Organization. - The town of Orbisonia was surveyed and platted in
May, 1850, and plan of town recorded May 4, 1850, and was chartered as
a borough Nov. 23, 1855, with the following-named persons as borough
officers: Burgess, A. W. Sims; Councilmen, William Ott, Amon W. Swoope,
John Wilson, Solomon Grove, Solomon Koons, and Abraham Carothers;
Return Judge, James S. Burkett.

The following is a list of officers named, as far as found in the
borough records:

The Presbyterian Church of Orbisonia was organized as early as 1837,
and upon the passage of the present free-school law by the State
Legislature, a two-story building was erected in the town of Orbisonia
the lower story of which was occupied as a school-room, and the second
story for church purposes.

This organization was at the time a branch or outstation of the
Shirleysburg Presbyterian Church, and remained as such till 1867, when
it was recognized by Presbytery as a separate organization, and still
continued to worship in the upper story of the school-house till 1876,
when the church built their present brick meeting-house, which is forty
by seventy-five feet, at a cost of four thousand dollars, Mr. T. E.
Orbison contributing nearly or quite one-half that sum, and in 1879 the
church edifice was dedicated free of debt. In the spring of 1879
Orbisonia and Shade Gap Presbyterian Churches united in calling Rev. J.
D. Owens, who is at present serving both churches.

Among the early or pioneer members of the Orbisonia Presbyterian Church
were John Bollinger, Sr., Mrs. John Bollinger, William Lykely and wife,
Mrs. Hooper, Mrs. Jordan, Mrs. Gilliland, Daniel Montgomery and wife,
Mrs. T. E. Orbison, Mrs. Bigham, John Bollinger, Jr. and wife, and Mrs.
Noble.

The pastors who have served this people are Revs. Britton E. Collins,
who was for forty-two years a pastor of some church, --- Shaffer, ---
Forbes, Samuel Alexander, --- Prideaux, and --- Watson (the two last
were supplies), and in the spring of 1879, J. D. Owens, present pastor.

Present membership, fify; valued of church property, five thousand
dollars. The Sunday school connected with this church has a membership
of ninety pupils, with an average attendance of seventy, with N. E.
Otto superintendent.

Methodist Episcopal Church [by B. F. Chilcoate, Esq.]. - Just when the
first Methodist class was formed in Orbisonia cannot well be
ascertained. However, the first Methodist church edifice in this place
was of stone, forty-five feet square, and stood on the line between the
lands of Thomas T. Cromwell and William Orbison, each one contributing
half the land upon which it stood. It was built in 1846 or 1847,
against the side of the hill, and a basement under one-half the
building, which was used for school purposes. Mr. Cromwell was one of
the projectors and principal contributors to the building fund. The
old stone church was destroyed by fire in January, 1865.

The present frame church, located on the southeast corner of Cromwell
and Winchester Streets, was built in 1866, and dedicated in 1867. The
building committee were B. F. Chilcoate, Thomas Kelley, and James S.
Chilcoate. The first trustees were B. F. Chilcoate, Thomas Kelley,
Rev. W. H. Stevens, and William M. Chilcoate. The class-leader in 1866
was William M. Chilcoate.

Previous to 1846, when the seed of Methodism was being sown on this
territory by the old pioneer Methodist preachers, services were held in
school-house, grove, and private dwellings, the residence of Thomas
Cromwell being the principal place, however, for such meetings.

Among the early and later preachers on this circuit may be found the
names of Jonathan Monroe, John Ball, David Shaver, Joseph Lee, Joseph
Parker, and Dr. --- Green. The following is a complete list of
preachers on the circuit, which at first embraced a large territory:

United Brethren Church. - The pioneer preachers of this denomination
who were traveling through the southern portion of Pennsylvania upon
their missions of love and mercy, finding something of a settlement at
what is now Orbisonia, made this one of their appointments or
preaching-places as early as 1838. Notwithstanding the unfavorable
prospect before them for several years, they nevertheless kept up their
appointments, and in 1853 saw something of the fruits of their labor in
the organization of a class of worshippers under the leadership of
Andrew J. Kelley and Thomas L. Kelley, with the following-named
members: Caleb Kelley, Thomas Kelley, Sr., John Rodgers, Elizabeth
Beightel, Matilda Rogers, Margaret Kelley, Rebecca Kelley, Sarah E.
Hockenbury, Jemima Rogers, Diannah Coughmore, Margaret Kelley, William
Lee, Eleanor Kelley, Mary E. Johns, Elijah Beard, Elizabeth Ow, James
Grover, A. E. Taylor, Susan Carothers, David Jones, Noah Stewart, Abram
Price, and Margaret Richerbaugh.

Thus far they had worshipped where as best they could, sometime in
dwellings, and at other times in barns or school-houses, and thus
continued till 1858 or 1859, when they built their present house of
worship, located on the northeast side of Cromwell Street, in Orbisonia
borough, at a cost of six hundred dollars.

At this time, Rev. George Washington Scott was the preacher in charge.

Among the preachers who have served this people the records give us the
names of Rev. J. W. Bonewell in 1853; William Shepherd and R. G. Rankin
in 1854; W. G. Rankin in 1855; Joseph Potts in 1856; J. F. Talhelm in
1857 and 1858; G. W. Scott, again in 1859; E. D. Pringle, 1860-1862; P.
B. Sherk in 1863; J. F. Talhelm, again 1864-1865; P. B. Sherk, again in
1866, J. A. Clemm, 1870-1871; J. F. Talhelm, again in 1872; W. H.
Mattern in 1875; J. E. McClay in 1877; C. W. Raver in 1881 and L. M.
Gates in 1882.

Present membership, seventy. Value of church property, six hundred
dollars. Trustees, G. S. Baker, D. L. Grissinger, and A. J. Kelley;
Steward, A. J. Kelley. The Sunday-school connected with this church
numbers over one hundred, with William H. Carrigan as superintendent.

Reformed Church of America. - The branch or society of this church
located at Orbisonia was organized in 1876, with the following-named
persons as the original members, David Grove, Isaac Enyeart, Joel
Grove, and Jacob Woolfe.

In 1878 the society or church purchased the frame building located on
lower end of Cromwell Street, formerly occupied by the Lutherans as a
place of worship, for which eight hundred dollars was paid. The
building has since been repaired, painted, and refurnished, and is now
valued at fifteen hundred dollars. Present membership, fifty.

The present trustees are David Grove, James Smith, and Joel Isenberg;
Elders, James Smith, David Grove, and Daniel Isenberg; Deacons, David
Isenberg and Luther Hileman.

The Sunday-school connected with this church has an average of twenty
pupils, with James Smith as superintendent.

The pulpit of this church was supplied from 1876 to 1878 by students
and others, when in the latter year Rev. J. M. Shick was called in
connection with other appointments. He remained till October, 1881,
when he was succeeded by Rev. E. H. Wrighter, the present pastor.

Trinity Protestant Episcopal Mission. - Trinity Protestant Episcopal
Mission was established by the Rev. Thomas O. Tongue, under the
direction of the Right Rev. Bishop Howe, in February 1877.

The following were the original members of the mission: Mrs. A. W.
Sims, Mr. and Mrs. John Puckey, and Mrs. B. F. Ripple.

Services were first held in the United Brethren Church, since which
time the mission has made such migratory flights as necessity demanded;
at the present services are held every two weeks in the lecture-room of
the Presbyterian Church.

The following clergymen have been in charge of the mission: Rev. Thomas
O. Tongue, from February, 1877, to October 19, 1879; Rev. A. J. Barrow,
from December, 1879 to January 9, 1881; Rev. C. E. D. Griffith from
June, 1881, to March 6, 1882; Rev. John Gregson, the present rector,
commenced his labors April 29, 1882. There are at present (July 1882)
twelve communicants.

Press of Orbisonia. - The Leader, a seven column weekly quarto, was
established in 1874 by Coons & Crouse, who continued the publication
till the spring of 1881, when publication was suspended for a short
time, after which the press and material was purchased by Messrs. E. J.
Stackpole and B. F. Ripple, and the first number of the Orbisonia
Dispatch was issued September 16, 1881, with E. J. Stackpole as editor.
The paper was at first a seven-column weekly, and after three months
was enlarged to eight columns, with an additional length to each
column, making it one of the largest papers in the county. Mr.
Stackpole was for several years connected with the McVeytown Journal,
and Mr. Ripple is officially connected with the Rock Hill Coal and Iron
Company. The Dispatch is neutral in politics and religion.

July 18, 1881 the band was reorganized, and the name changed to "Silver
Cornet Band" it having purchased a set of new silver instruments
costing six hundred dollars. The band is at present on a sound
financial basis, and is destined to be one of the foremost of its kind
in the State.

Educational. - CROMWELL TOWNSHIP. - There are in this township eleven
school districts, in each of which were five month's school in 1880.
To conduct these eleven schools eight male and three female teachers
were employed, at a salary of $26.57 per month for the male and $25.00
per month for the female teachers. Total amount raised by tax for
support of schools during the year was $2,692.83; State appropriations,
$369.90; total expenditures, $2870.90.

ORBISONIA BOROUGH. - The pioneer school-house was a small log building
that stood at the north end of what is now Cromwell Street. When it was
built is not known; however, it was the only school-house in what is
now Cromwell Township, and was the only one till 1836. The present
school-house is a two-story brick building for the accommodation of two
or more schools. In 1880 there were two schools in the borough, with
five month's term each. Total receipts for school and building
purposes during the year, $5,801.86; expenditures for the same time,
$3,020.51.